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Math

Math is a hot topic — one that most people insist is the gatekeeper to educational and financial success — and one that most people fear and/or hate. I would hazard a guess that one of the single most destructive elements in family lives today is Math Homework.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Math can be taught in an engaging, understandable, and even enjoyable way. (But when it’s taught with a heavy emphasis on preparing students for high stakes testing, most of this is inevitably stripped away. You’ll read more about my thoughts on that if you follow along with my blog.)

I believe students should be given the opportunity to work through concepts to the point of mastery (not to the point of complete and utter boredom because they’re swallowing a one-size-fits-all prescription) and see math not as some painful adolescent ritual but as the language of the universe — the description of all the patterns and phenomena we see at play in nature and in art and architecture and engineering … and computer coding and aviation and seafaring and gambling … to name only a very few aspects of a universe written in the beautifully patterned and predictable* language of math.

(*until we get into chaos theory — but even that’s an area of math … yes?)

I want to help …

I wish I could personally help everyone who has ever suffered from any form of math anxiety. I have loved the opportunities I had to interact with students as both a teacher and a tutor and I am so grateful that I now have the chance to homeschool my own children and raise them in a positive learning environment.

But I want to do more to help ease the culturally inflicted and accepted curse of Math Anxiety. I want to join forces with all those who are working to ease math-induced tension and fear while cultivating in students a love for learning and confidence in themselves.

This website is my small platform to provide as much help as I can to families everywhere who want to help their children learn in meaningful, tear-free ways.

Follow us to see insights into our homeschool life; I will share stories, lessons learned, free printables, ideas, and inspiration for you in your own journey raising learners — whether your children are in public, private, charter, or home school.

Resources to help you teach your own children or students

I’ve taught math and tutored math for years (decades, centuries maybe by now), but I’m ready to transition to a new phase where I can offer help through digital resources. I’ve begun building a small library of resources for homeschooling families, tutors, and teachers that are focused on specific topics and individually packaged at low price points ($2 – 10 dollars each) to help make the material easily accessible to all. I have a dream (among many) that I will someday turn this content into video tutorials so that the material can be more hands-free for parents and easy for students to follow.

I plan to create content that is universal, not tied to any specific state standards, and presented in a way that will lead students into a solid understanding (and appreciation!) of math that they can continue to build on throughout their life.

I’ll be drawing from my experience teaching in the classroom (teaching 6-12 grade math — mostly Algebra and Geometry), tutoring students of all ages, and homeschooling my own sons, as well as pedagogy I’ve learned through my math major and Masters in Teaching. (Not intended as a #humblebrag — just laying out some street cred here.)

If any of this sounds interesting to you, please follow along as I post ideas, stories, resources, and learning-related tips here on the blog. And I would LOVE to hear your input about what topics you (or your students, children, tutees, etc.) would find helpful. You can reach me at sandra@realworldlearners.com.

Let’s Stay in Touch!

Please subscribe if you’d like to stay connected and receive links — including free printables — to activity-based learning resources I create. You can also follow me on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/sandrabethany/. I look forward to having you join me in my journey!

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About the author

I have a double major in Math and English and a Master's in Teaching. I taught high school math for 6 years and currently homeschool my two boys. I am learning how to help my children learn in authentic, joyful, resource-rich ways. I am creating and sharing activity-based learning resources for math (primarily -- but you'll see a bit of every subject eventually here).